Marye House

Building History

Marye House was originally known as Ridge Crest and sat upon Marye’s Heights Hill.[1. William B. Crawley, Jr., University of Mary Washington: A Centennial History, 1908-2008 (Fredericksburg, VA: University of Mary Washington Foundation, 2008), 10-11.] No one person is the namesake of Marye House. The Marye family members were noteworthy as settlers from England in the early 18th century. Most notably, George Washington was a pupil of Reverend James Marye.[2. Edward Alvey, Jr., History of Mary Washington College 1908-1972 (Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 1974), 294.] Its first purpose was as the residence of the President of the college. At the construction of the residence halls, Mason Hall and Randolph Hall though it was moved further down the hill in order to make room for the construction, to it current location. This is when the name was changed.

Over the years, Marye House has also been used as a residence hall for students studying Spanish [3. Crawley, 11.] and is currently used as the Office of Residence Life and Office of Student Life. [4. Kayle Partenheimer, interview by Cassie Trumbetic, Fredericksburg, VA, April 30, 2012]